Haunting Familiarity
by Richard-Grayson-Wayne
Summary: It's always the simple missions that run awry but this one exploded in his face. Someone knows who Robin is, behind the mask, and they're coming for him with everything they have. Only Raven has any idea who he is behind the mask but the Titans are left in the dark as someone from Robin's past comes for him. This is a vendetta but he's just as clueless as the others. Gore Warning.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes, I know I shouldn't be starting a new story right now. Yes, I do plan to continue the other ones. I'm pushing your patience. **

He awoke to blaring alarms and flashing red lights, impossible to miss and even more impossible to sleep through. He jerked up, throwing the covers off his body and practically vaulting out of bed to throw on his uniform. He was practiced, easily changing out of his sleepwear in under a minute and rushing out the door as he clipped his cape into place. He ran into the common room, the windows acting as a computer screen alive with a blinking red alert message. He easily leaps over the couch, landing perfecting into the chair at the console head just as the doors slide open behind him and allowed the others Titans entrance.

"What is it?" Cyborg asked, face stern and body held for battle. Starfire floated over his shoulder, the angry glow in her eyes dimming when she realized the threat wasn't inside the tower.

"Anyone we know?" Beast Boy asked, stretching and rubbing at his eyes tiredly as a loud yawn tore from his throat.

"Warehouse district," Robin informed tightly, masked eyes glaring daggers at the screen as he quickly took in the report that set off their alarms. "Culprit unknown." He mutters darkly. Unknown was never good, especially in their line of work. The first unknown that had really driven it home for his relatively inexperienced friends had been Slade. Robin pushed out of the chair and rushed past his friends who followed his lead with unquestioning ease. It was a good feeling to have earned such loyalty from such great people.

It was a quick trip to the garage, Robin straddling the R-cycle and grabbing his helmet. Cyborg followed his lead, starting up the T-car and ushering Beast Boy into the passenger seat. "Coast line, warehouse district 6G." Robin informed quickly, shoving his helmet onto his head and revving his bike, "Titans, Go!"

Robin skidded to a halt in front of the much too quiet warehouses, R-cycle rumbling almost silently under him as it kicked up dirt in a cloud behind him. Nothing seemed awry and the records said the warehouses themselves were empty. Robin had expected to show up to property damage, yelling, some kind of sign of distress. There was nothing.

Starfire landed gently beside him, green eyes scanning the scene carefully. Starfire was still getting used to Earth life and it's customs and her personality was bubbly and kind but in battle she was a war-hardened warrior. That's why Robin liked her so much, she wasn't one-dimensional and simple. Robin was always ready for a mystery. "I can not see any signs of distress." She turns to him with confused eyes as Raven hovers silently above them, "Are you certain we're in the correct place?" Robin nodded, eyes narrowing darkly.

"I can sense someone." Raven reports, voice as dull as always as she gently lands on his other side. The T-car pulls up behind him, gravel crunching beneath it's tires, and Cyborg and Beast Boy exit in unison.

"Doesn't seem like any evil is going on here." Beast Boy muses, but his voice is low. The green-skinned boy had learned from past experiences not to assume the best in these situations. Beast Boy's loud voice had gotten them caught on too many occasions.

Cyborg's electronic eye whirs quietly, Robin tilts his head to watching his friend out of the corner of his eye as the older teen also scans the area. "Raven, you said you sensed someone?" The whirring slows to a hum, Cyborg turning to meet Raven's eyes seriously. Raven nodded, morbid curiosity spurring in the rest of them when Cyborg scowled.

"I got three heat signatures." He whispers darkly, "One heartbeat."

Starfire gasps, "What do you mean?" She snaps, glaring at Cyborg, but Robin can see the desperation behind the anger. She steps closer to their mechanical friend, "You must be mistaken, check again."

"I'm sorry Starfire." Cyborg shakes his head slowly, sadly. Robin feels his chest constrict, squeezing in sympathy. He's dealt with a lot of death in the field, Gotham was a breeding ground for the worst of the worst, but it was uncommon in Jump. It always his friends hard and stuck with them longer. Robin had long since learned to mourn and push on.

"No!" Starfire hisses, Robin can tell she's struggling to stay quiet. Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling with her strength and fury. She was hiding sadness behind anger, something Robin was all too familiar with. "_No_, you _must_ be mistaken."

"Star," Beast Boy whispered, gaining the fiery redhead's attention, both pairs of green eyes were moist with a film of unshed tears, "We can't save them." He murmurs. It's easy to forget that Beast Boy had been through so much, lost so much, but it's times like these that Robin remembers that Beast Boy is also Garfield Logan, not that Beast Boy knew he knew. "But we can avenge them."

Starfire lets out a shuddering breath, shoulders sagging as she deflated and gave Beast Boy a curt nod. "And avenge them I shall." She declared, eyes lighting up with raw, lime-colored power.

"Titans," Robin broke in. He let their moment drag on longer than he should have but he didn't have the heart to break it up. He noted how Raven relaxed minutely as the pep-talk fell away. He knew she was upset but he also knew she couldn't afford to be. Raven was used to death, too, likely more so than Robin was but she wasn't used to people she was supposed to save not making it. "Which warehouse?" He asked, sliding off his helmet and silently pushing himself away from the R-cycle.

"6." Raven answers swiftly, a nod from Cyborg confirming they'd gotten the same person.

"Warehouse 6, district 6G." Robin mused, leading the way towards the warehouse in question, carving a path through the shadows the moon's silver light cast.

"Coincidence?" Cyborg asked.

"We can't afford to assume." Raven waved off the suggestion. She was right, of course. With two at minimum assumed dead, potentially murdered, they couldn't afford to make assumptions. Robin raised a hand to silence them, just in case any more questions were lingering, they were too close to talk now. He pointed at Raven and nodded towards the ceiling of the warehouse. She nods, not only relying on his signals but the link they now shared. She softly and lifts herself off the ground, floating herself up to the roof silently as Robin points Starfire towards the back. They didn't know if whoever was inside was planning an escape or a trap and they needed to be ready. Starfire was their powerhouse, if their criminal tried to run she could stop them.

He moved towards the warehouse door, waving over his shoulder for Beast Boy and Cyborg to follow him. He heard Cyborg uncontrollably heavy steps and Beast Boy's light footfalls flank him, again trusting his command. They stopped in front of the heavy steel door, Robin nodded at Cyborg and the man grabbed the handle and swung it open.

Robin heard Beast Boy gag.

"Oh god," Cyborg choked out.

Robin couldn't breathe.

There were two bodies mangled on the ground. They were dressed in bright costumes, red chested leotards with golden swirls and once snow white legs. The pants of the costume were stained crimson, blood coated the surface and pooling around them. It was obvious what had happened, They'd been dropped, one male one female, had been dropped from the ceiling. A nine-ten story drop from the high ceiling of the warehouse. Their faces were frozen in panicked horror, their limbs broken and bodies shattered.

It was all too familiar to Robin, it haunted his dreams and caused his nightmares. Waking hours dedicated to tragedy.

Raven phases through the roof, a rift of black energy allowing her to travel from roof to ceiling. "Robin," She begins and that yanks him from the shock that froze him in place.

Beast Boy is retching, Robin turns his head just so to look over his shoulder and check on the boy emptying his stomach just outside the large doorway. Cyborg is silent, oddly so, so Robin turns his head the other way to find his friend. He finds the cyborg's eyes locked on the bodies in horror, face pale and human eye blown wide.

"_Robin_," Raven stresses, "Whoever did this, they're gone. They just vanished." She lands in front of him, blocking his few of the masacre laying only a few yards in front of him. That's when Robin spots it, a trail of red that's swirling across the concrete floor. It's message is half hidden in shadow, the light of the warehouse, dingy and yellow, focused on the bodies in some sick spotlight. But the message glints in the light, wet and red and unmistakable. He shoulders pass Raven, shrugging off her hand as she tries to stop him.

"Robin?" Cyborg's voice is low, strained and uncertain, but his curiosity is enough to pull him from his stupor.

The Boy Wonder stops, a mere foot away from the words written in the blood of innocent people across the floor, and promptly sobs. It's rough like sandpaper and tears at his throat, a gloved hand snapping to cover his mouth but it's far too late to hide now.

Raven is at his side in a second, Cyborg not far behind with a greener-than-usual Beast Boy. "_Robin_," She stresses again. How many times had she said his name in the last few minutes? How much had she actually _seen_ in his head?

"Robin?" Beast Boy's voice is shaking, tremors weaving through the words and making them shudder. Robin doesn't need to look to know that Beast Boy himself is shaking too.

"Friends?" Starfire sounds defeated, scared, and angry all at once. Robin finds himself wondering if she'd ever seen the casualties of war because despite how devastated she sounds she doesn't react to the state of the bodies the same was Cyborg and Beast Boy had. Robin hears a soft _whoosh_ as she flies over but he can't find it in himself to do anything. His eyes are locked on the words swirling cruelly across the floor in a morbid imitation of unsteady calligraphy. She gasps as she comes closer, Robin can imagine the hand flying to her mouth. "Robin?" Now her voice shakes too.

It was funny, how they all said his name, but none of them really knew it.

It was funny, his friends didn't know his name, but whoever did this did.

Written on the floor in drying, muddy scarlet was but a simple question. So simple, it made Robin nauseas.

_Look familiar, Robin?_


	2. Chapter 2

"Robin!" Raven snapped, grabbing his arm and harshly turning him towards her. Turning his gaze away from the words, from the bodies, from the memories flickering behind his eyes. The scent of iron hits him now, now that the shock is draining from his and taking his energy with it. The nausea flares. His hand is still clamped down over his mouth, holding his mouth closed and silencing anymore cries threatening to leave him. His eyes are wet, vision blurry, but his mask soaks up the tears and hides the emotions he works so hard to keep under wraps. Raven pulls her hood down, purple hair framing her pale gray face and revealing eyes gleaming with angry concern. "Look at me." He sucks in a breath through his nose and drops his hand, blinking away salty tears resisting the urge to cringe when he feels more moisture absorb into his mask. He meets Raven's gaze and lets out a harsh breath, a mimicked sob, and her face softens. "I'm sorry," She tries to keep her voice quiet, keep their conversation private, but the warehouse is too silent and her voice bounces off the walls. "I think I know what this is and I'm sorry but it's not them. It's not _real_." She insists.

"People are dead Raven." Robin murmurs, his tone imitates her earlier snappish words but the scratchiness of his voice ruins the effect.

"But it's not _them_." Raven presses. Robin doesn't think Raven knows who those people were to him, not really, just that they mattered. It wasn't hard to connect the dots but Raven didn't often jump to conclusions.

"This is personal." Robin breathes and Raven tenses, eyes narrowing. He knows she can feel him pulling away. Not only was she an empath but they were connected now, a tether between them unbreakable.

"That makes it personal for us too." Raven replies quickly. She's prepared. Prepared for him to pull back, try and do things alone. It was what he always did. He'd become predictable. He wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not.

"She is right, Robin." Starfire's voice is surprisingly meek, a tone one didn't often hear from her. "Your fights are our fights, too, are they not? We are a team." Robin turns to see her determined expression, eyes sad.

"I called the police." Cyborg reported, "Told them about the bodies and that the guy who did it was still out there." They were heroes, protectors, but they didn't clean up the blood and put the bodies away. "Do you want me to clean up the…" He pointed a mechanical thumb over his shoulder towards the message painted on the floor.

Robin nodded, "No one can know about it." _It makes things too obvious_. If a detective were to see those words, see the costumes, it would be obvious just who he was. This was an attack on Richard Grayson directed towards Robin, anyone who knew anything about both identities wouldn't find it hard to put the pieces into place.

Cyborg nods, fingers falling away into his wrist as his hand morphed into something akin to his sonic canon. He shouldn't have been surprised when water shot out, a powerhouse built into his friend's arm.

"That's new." Beast Boy observed, always trying to lighten the mood. Robin appreciated the effort, and obviously Starfire did too as she let out a little giggle, but Robin didn't think he mood could be lightened right now.

"Started working on it after that fire a couple months ago," Cyborg explains. Robin remembers that. They hadn't been able to do much, the fire roaring and the house ablaze crumbling before them. No one had died that day but they had still been underprepared. "Figured this thing could come in handy."

"Good thinking." Robin praised robotically. He meant it, really, but there was this sense of numb resignation that was rolling through him that sucked all the meaning from his words, thoughts, very being.

"Should we not go?" Starfire asked, "The police will be here soon and we will not be of any more help." She explained, "I do not want to look at them anymore." She added quietly, looking away in guilt-tainted shame.

"I don't either," Robin assured, Raven wouldn't let him look back, every time she even thought his eyes were flicking towards the bodies she'd pull his focus back to her.

"Let's go." Raven agreed, nudging Robin towards the door and following quickly behind him. The others formed a wall, intentional or not, making sure that even if Robin looked back now he wouldn't be able to see the gruesome murder.

_Her hand was a mere centimeter from his own, their fingers _brushed_ but still she slipped through the cracks. With her fell the others, all of them, he watched them plumet- _

"Robin." Raven huffed, turning her face just slightly to shoot him a probbing look. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Beast Boy asked, curious and concerned as he popped up on the other side of Robin. Raven glowered at him, eyes lighting up with white energy. "Right," Beast Boy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he fell back to Cyborg's side once more. "Mind meld stuff."

Robin shot Raven an indecipherable look, scanning her own expressionless features. "I thought you knew." He admits. She had been very adamant about the fact that it hadn't been _them _dead on the floor in that warehouse.

"I assumed. I remember the outfit…" She paused, "And the show. I don't remember seeing them…" Again, she trails off.

"Fall." Robin fills in the blank. His heart stutters, squeezing painfully, and a lump lodges itself in his throat.

"Was that what that was?" Raven's voice lowers, barely a whisper.

Robin nods. He remembers the right here feeling cold, night hair chilling his exposed skin and filling the breathable material of his costume. Now he feels too hot, his skin on fire and his body rolling out waves of sick discomfort that the crisp night air did nothing to soothe. He hopes the ride home will help cool him off, help him unwind at least a little. It was painfully early, dawn hadn't even begun but midnight had long since passed, and Robin was glad he didn't need to try and get any more sleep tonight.

When he gets close enough his quickly slides onto the R-cycle, shoving his helmet on his head and starting up the bike with a roar of the powerful engine. He's about to take off, shoot down the roads and lose himself in a ride and the familiarity of cold air biting at his flesh, but Raven stands in front of the cycle.

"Can I join you?" The questions sends surprise through him and Raven must feel it because he sees her cheeks tint ever-so-slightly. "I don't want to lose flight if you have another… flashback… and I don't want to have to ride with him." She points a finger in Beast Boy's direction.

"Hey!" The green teen complains, scowling at her as Cyborg easily sweeps him off the ground and tosses him once more into the passenger seat of the T-car.

"Uh, yeah," Robin answers before he can even think over his answer. His teammates comfort was always top priority and even though he had been looking forward to being alone being with Raven didn't fill him with the burden company would usually bring. "Yeah, sure." He nods and Raven nods back, circling around to climb onto the bike behind him. Robin had never been an introvert, he's always been a people person. He couldn't flourish on his own like Batman could, he was a talker and a performer, but in a state like the one he was in now he preferred to be on his own. Sifting through his thoughts, mourning, losing himself. That wasn't something he liked to do with company.

But as Raven slid on behind him, accepting his helmet when he took it off and passed it back to her, gently wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his back calmly, it was soothing. It was the comfort he had craved from the cold night, a silent reassurance and a promise of quiet. Raven wouldn't press for answers, wouldn't try and make him talk, trying to comfort him with lies and promises that couldn't be kept. She was just a solid presence, a silent ease that promised he wouldn't be alone ever again.

He revved the engine again and took off down the road. He basked in the feeling of the engine rumbling, in the feeling of Raven against him, and he revelled in the comforting bite of cold air against his arms. The pregnant moon was bright in the sky, hanging over the Titans Tower like a beacon that guided them back, and for just a moment Robin thought he was back home in Gotham. He could imagine Batman in the Batmobile beside him, chasing down a lead together and racing even if Batman would never admit to it. He feels Raven's arms tighten around his waist as he takes a particularly sharp turn and a soft smile pulls at his lips despite what was happening; this was home too.

He presses a button on the small dash of his bike, speeding up as a rush of adrenaline floods through his veins. Raven's grip tightens again, "Don't." She warns, stern, but Robin lets out a soft laugh as the bike races down the coast. The water is moving, something rising, and Robin makes for the entrance as it opens. It's a simple opening, a steal entrance that rose from the beaches waters when prompted, Robin fed the R-cycle another flood of gas and floored it towards the still rising entrance. "_Robin_." Again he doesn't listen, leaning back and pulling the front of the bike with him as he moves toward the small cliffside that overlooks the beach from the city streets. It's seconds before the bike it flying through the air, arching high over the beach before gravity took hold and pulled them back towards the earth. Or ocean, as positioning would have it. Raven's hold is borderline bruising now, her face pressed into his shoulder. His stomach drops like it would on a rollercoaster and he can't help but whoop at the sensation, craving it like any addict would crave their drug.

The bike lands perfectly in the opening, bouncing slightly as it sailed through the tunnel leading back towards the Titans garage. Robin let out a soft laugh, barely a puff of air. It falters for a moment, even with the rush he couldn't get what had happened off his mind, but Raven's face moving from his shoulder and the rush of aggravation he felt that he knew wasn't his own blissfully distracted him once more. "Hey, come on, you know I'd never let anything happen to you."

"Yeah, maybe," Raven mutters darkly under her breath, but Robin knows she's fighting a grin of her own, "But you'd let something happen to you. How often do you do that?"

"Often enough." Robin shrugged, slowly the bike as it cruised peacefully into empty garage. There were no remnants of the jump but Raven and Robin knew the risk he'd taken.

"That was the first time, wasn't it?" Raven deadpanned.

"Third, actually." Robin smirked, sitting back as Raven pulled away and took the helmet off her head. She passed it to Robin and stood quietly, waiting patiently for Robin to follow her lead.

"Will you tell me what this was about?" Raven asks. He knows she isn't talking about the jump.

"I don't know what it was about," Robin sighed, "I don't know who could've done it, or why, or how they knew. All I know is this is more personal than Slade."

"You don't have any ideas?" Raven pressed.

Robin shook his head slowly, crossing his arms and glaring at the metal floor, "None that makes sense." His enemies didn't know who he was, both he and Batman had made sure that their identities were to remain a well kept secret.

"We'll figure it out." Raven assured. No promises of safety, of protection. Just her word that they'd get to the bottom of it. He could get behind that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dates are coinciding with the show, obviously. **

Robin lead the way to the staircase, Raven trailing behind him without even so much as a hum of question. He didn't want to wait for the others, selfishly enough; he knew they'd ask questions. Again, he couldn't help but be grateful for Raven knowing she understood his want to avoid pressing questions.

Raven's footsteps are soft, quiet taps echoing in the otherwise silent stairwell while Robin's own were unheard. "How do you do that?" Raven asks, Robin swears he can feel her curiosity but he hasn't gotten used to their mental bond yet. He still can't determine if he's imagining things are not.

Robin feels a gentle smile pull at his lips, unable to really form due to the turmoil in his head. "Years of practice." He informs, hopping up the last few steps to the first floor with inaudible grace.

Raven follows, eyes watching him perceptively. "How many?" She asks, tone giving nothing away for her intentions. She pushing, Robin knows, looking for something that could give her a clue, and despite his hesitance Robin knows he can trust her. She's already seen so much inside his head, whatever it may have been, and she hadn't shared a word with the others.

"Six." Robin answers with a shrug. He doesn't need their strange mind meld to know she was shocked he'd even answered, shooting a smirk at her over his shoulder.

"Wait," Raven muttered, following quietly after him as he made for the elevator. Her brow twitched together in visible confusion, bright violet eyes flicking up to meet his masked gaze as he press the elevator button and turned to her. "That's means you were-"

"Nine." Robin nods, confirming before she could even finish. He nods for her to enter the elevator first as it opens, waiting patiently as she pressed the button for the top floor.

"Why so young?" Raven asked, head tilting slightly. The movement sends send strands of shiny purple hair into her face, falling over her soft features.

"That one I can't answer." Can't was a strong word, won't was more accurate, but after what just happened he didn't want to talk about his family.

Raven hummed, nodding, but Robin can't tell if she's disappointed or disapproving. The doors open and they exit together into the hall, walking side-by-side towards the common room. Raven makes for the kitchen, Robin watching her from the doorway for a moment as she bent down to grab a soda from the fridge. His stomach is churning, lump still heavy in his throat, and their presence only became so much more pronounced now that he didn't have Raven and adrenaline as a distraction.

He swallows thickly and moves towards the head console, falling into the seat heavily and booting up the small monitor with but a tap of the keyboard. He needed to fill out a report, document what happened and takes notes in order to start putting things together, but that requires thinking about _it_. That's quite literally the last thing he wants to do right now, but even then it still haunts him anyway. He knows he won't be able to escape it, whatever he does, the events of this morning were going to shadow him like a demon. He hates that whoever did it is getting exactly what they wanted.

With a deep breath and a rough exhale Robin starts the report, so focused on trying to figure it all out he doesn't hear Raven walk over and settle down on the couch behind him.

_**Warehouse district 6G; warehouse 6. Alarms went off 03:46 September 19 2019. Arrival on scene 04:03, no sign of damage, breakin, or unauthorized entrance- **_

_A man, Dick didn't know who he was, exits Haly's tent. He's curious, head tilted and uncertain, but the man turns to him and smiles. There's something about that smile, something terrible, and Dick runs- _

_**Raven and Cyborg detect a life signature in warehouse 6- **_

_Dick watches, horrified, as that man from earlier tells his father he needs to pay some sort of insurance. He's young, he is, but he knows enough to understand that _insurance_ is a threat. The man, his name is Zucco apparently, put a hand on his shoulder and Dick pulls back- _

_**Cyborg detects two more heat signatures, no life signatures. Raven talks the roof, Starfire is positioned at the back, all exits are covered. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin take the lead and enter the warehouse- **_

_Dick's fingers barely brush his mother's, her digits warm and calloused against his own small hands, but he's not fast enough to grab her. She plummets, his father, aunt, uncle, and cousin fall with her. She screams, he thinks it's his name, they're all screaming. _Everyone's_ screaming. He thinks he is too, his throat hurts. He slides down the ladder- it's not fast enough, it _not_\- and runs to his family. He dodges the other performers, ducking under arms and flipping over heads before landing at their side. Their blood everywhere, puddling gruesomely, broken bones breaking through pale skin. Pain is plastered on their faces, eyes wide open and haunted, he collapses, small hands curling into the fabric of his mother and father's tunics. Even under the small pressure he feels their ribs shift and he _sobs-

"Robin," Raven gasps and he whips around to see her soda splattered across the floor, can rolling away as she grips the sides of her head. There are tears in her eyes, shadows of dark shadowy power curling around her feet. She looks up at her, face screwed up in pain, and it hits him that she saw it too. All of it. "Robin," Her hands fall from her head to cup themselves over her mouth. He watches her as she tries to compose herself and reel in her emotions. Her emotions are dangerous.

Robin stands, body stiff and movements jerky, and walks to her side. He falls next to her on the couch. "I'm sorry you had to see that," He apologizes softly, honestly, and wraps his arms around her shoulders. She falls against him but doesn't hug back. He swallows, trying to push down the growing lump in his throat. It grew from a discomfort, it clogged his airways and pulse with his rocketing heart beat. "I think I have a suspect." He breathes.

A suspect that shouldn't be possible. A suspect that was locked away in Gotham Penitentiary. The doors slide open behind him, he expects heavy silence or Beast Boy's desperate attempts to lighten the mood.

"Robin."


	4. Chapter 4

Raven shudders, pulling away from Robin quickly and whipping around to spot none other than Batman. Robin's too shocked at first to even move, staring at the man with wide eyes. Raven, however, _moves. _She shoots into the air, blinking away the tears that still obscured her vision, and her eyes flash bright white. "Who are you?" She hisses and that's enough to break Robin from his shock.

"Hey, whoa, wait," He starts, pushing himself to his feet and holding up his hands placatingly. "He's my, _was_ my mentor." He explains. Honestly, he thought they'd all known that, at least. With the exception of Starfire they'd all been on Earth long enough to know about one of its major heroes. Apparently he was wrong.

"You had a mentor?" Raven asked gently, sending Batman a wary look as she lowered herself back to the ground beside Robin.

Robin nodded, shooting a look towards his mentor- ex-mentor? The man. The man hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway, There was something about how he was holding himself that set Robin on edge and he wasn't sure he could handle whatever it was. He turns back to Raven, and nods again, "I thought you knew."

A realization seemed to flood Raven, eyes widening slightly and mouth opening in a soft 'o'. "The cave." She says.

Robin nods, the only cave she'd have seen in his head would be the Bat-Cave after all. "Yeah, the cave." He watches Raven send Batman a sour look, still suspicious, but now she understands more. He wonders vaguely if she knows about the fight, if she'd seen it. He hopes not.

"Why are you here?" Robin asked. Raven looks at him out of the corner of her eye, there's a flash of concern that isn't his own, and he can't help but flinch at how defeated his own voice sounded. He's surprised to see Batman soften, the tension his body always seemed to hold releasing just enough for Robin to notice the difference.

"Something's happened." _No, really?_ Robin wants to snap. He wants to snarl and fight and push away the man in front of him. It's like he ran away for nothing, left only to have it come crashing down at the worst moment. Robin feels the man's gaze flick to Raven, "Do they know?" A vague question, it could mean anything, but Robin knows all too well what he's asking.

"No." A simple answer for a vague question but Batman gave a curt nod of understanding.

Batman steps further in, moving forward until he's stopped right on the other side of the couch. The red furniture is the only thing between them now. Robin almost forgets it's been three years since he'd last seen his mentor- his father. "Zucco's escaped."

Robin chokes.

The door's open again, the rest of the team filtering into the room and promptly stopping in their tracks. Starfire's reaction is much the same as Raven's, raising into the air as her eyes and fists sparked with otherworldly energy. Robin's too busy choking to try and placate her, coughing into his fist as Raven rests a shellshocked hand on his shoulder.

"Don't," Cyborg raises a quick hand in Starfire's direction and Robin's glad he doesn't have to deal with one of his teammates shooting at his father figure. "He's a good guy." He breathes, eyes locked on the Bat's form.

"He's like _the_ good guy." Beast Boy breathes, bouncing on his feet in excitement.

"Isn't that the Superman?" Starfire asks, confuses as she lowers herself back down and sends Beast Boy a confused look.

"How do you know who Superman is and not Batman?" Beast Boy huffs, quickly flicking his eyes to Starfire with clear disbelief before turning back to Batman. "Uh… not to be rude, but why _are_ you here?"

Robin, getting his breath back under control, pinches the bridge of his nose. He can practically feel Batman's raised eyebrow. "BB, you know he's like Robin's dad, right?" Cyborg answers before Robin even moved to try.

"_What_?" Beast Boy somehow manages to sound simultaneously betrayed and starstruck.

"He's not my dad," Robin mumbles, running a gloved hand through his spiked hair.

"Robin," Batman's voice is stern, it sounds harsh but Robin knows better. It's getting his attention, drawing him back to the problem at hand, pulling him out of his head.

"Something happened here, too." Robin confesses, running that same hand down his face and gently cupping it over his mouth as he thought about what exactly to say. "I think he was here, already. We came back from a murder, before you got here. Two adults, one male one female, dressed at acrobats and dropped to their deaths." He explains, using all his will power to keep his voice from shaking from behind his palm.

Batman stands in silence for a long moment, eyes narrowing darkly. The Titans don't move, Robin feels like they're holding their breaths even. Robin meets his mentor's eyes, locked in a standstill as the nausea kicks up again in his stomach. Zucco was out, Zucco was coming for him to finish the job. He'd had taken on the horrors of Gotham time and time again yet the very idea of this one man coming for his blood made him freeze.

Raven's hand squeezes his shoulder gently.

Batman surges forward. He stalks around the couch, cape billowing behind him. Beast Boy squeaks and Robin admits to someone outside the Bats that it must look intimidating. To Robin it's nostalgic, comforting, and it sends s rush of homesickness through him.

Batman stops merely a foot from him, Robin can tell he's hesitating and thinking, but he doesn't know why-

Until Batman hugs him.

He tenses at first, stiff as a rod in Batman's hold, but then he melts. He couldn't remember the last time a hug had made him feel so _safe_. He'd proven to himself that he didn't need Batman, that he was more than part of the Dynamic Duo, but he had never once admitted to himself that he _missed_ it. He missed Batman, he missed Gotham, he missed being a partner. He missed his dad. Batman's hold completely engulfs him, his strong arms covering him as their capes fluttered in something akin to a cocoon around them.

"I can't convince you to come back to Gotham, can I?" Batman asks softly, only for Robin's ears.

Robin couldn't help but smile, shaking his head into the kevlar reinforced shoulder of the bat-suit. "No way in hell." He feels more than he hears Batman snort, the puff of air sending a few spikes of his pitch black hair in different directions. He paused, the smile falling as he pressed his forehead into that same shoulder, "I can't run, Bruce."

"I know." Batman replies, but he sounds sad. That hurts more than anything. They'd fought, threw around hurtful words with everything they'd had, but in the end nothing could really terminate the bond they had. They were family, maybe not by blood, but by everything that mattered. Robin had enjoyed tossing painful words at Batman those few years ago but Batman had never sounded so resigned to his ear before. Later, Robin promised himself, they needed to talk. Until then, they had a murderer to track down.


	5. Chapter 5

Batman sweeps across the floor, cape gently billowing behind him, and moves towards the monitor Robin had previously been using to type up a half-hearted report. Robin follows robotically, silent footfalls following the Dark Knight like the lost child he had been not too long ago.

Batman easily lowers himself into the seat, using familiar Wayne tech to flick through the barely started report before delving deeper into the files archived. Robin didn't move to stop him, instead standing beside him with crossed arms and a careful eye. He trusted Batman- the man had given him everything and cared for him with everything that couldn't physically be gifted- but that doesn't mean he didn't think the man would try to work out some sort of contingency behind his back.

"Dude," He heard Beast Boy whisper poorly. It was more like a stage whisper, loud and so painfully obvious, but it was even more painful knowing that that was just simply how the changeling whispered. "_Batman_." Robin couldn't help but cringe at that.

He honestly had expected everyone, with the exception of Starfire, to know about his relationship with Batman to some extent. In the end, it had only been Cyborg who knew the brunt of it. Beast Boy had known _of_ the Batman but not that Robin was directly connected to Gotham's terrifying vigilante. Raven hadn't even realized he'd had a mentor before the Titans for Christ's sake. He doesn't know why exactly he expected more or if he should feel bad for that level of secrecy but for now there was really only one thing on his mind.

Zucco.

"_I know_." Cyborg's equally loud reply grated on Robin's ears. His grip tightened on his biceps, fingers curling into the breathable fabric of his short sleeves in an attempt to keep from reacting. "I can't believe we're meeting Robin's dad."

_He's not my dad,_ Robin wanted to snap again. It was pointless, though, because no matter how much he pushed it he knew it was a lie. Batman- _Bruce_\- may not be his father but he was certainly his dad. He'd lost his father a long time ago, seven painful years, but though Bruce could never fill the gaping hole they'd left behind he'd filled a position that Robin wouldn't have anyone else fill. He loved Bruce with every piece of himself and even if he wanted to throw the guy into the sun sometimes he'd never give him up. Bruce was his dad in every way that mattered. Denying that wouldn't change anything.

"I still can't believe he's Robin's dad." Robin grit his teeth, eyes narrowing into mere slits at the information flickering across the monitor that held most of Batman's attention.

"I am not Robin's father." Batman's voice is as gruff as always. Deep and threatening, an edge of annoyance and anger tinting the ends of his words like they always did. Robin was skilled in the art of seeing past the bat-voice, though. He could hear the hint of amusement, the anxiety hiding behind that. Batman didn't say he wasn't Robin's dad, he said he wasn't his father. Robin didn't correct him.

The two startled squeaks Batman's interruption had ripped from his teammates lips was nothing less than satisfying. Maybe, just maybe, they'd stop talking and Robin could try and focus on the matter at hand. His nerves were frayed, body tense, and even Raven's knowing presence not far behind him calmed the tempests of negativity whirling in his chest. He resisted the urge to tap his foot, his finger- the urge to _move_. He didn't want his team to see this get to him anymore than they already had.

Batman, of course, could read him like an open book. The bastard.

"Robin," The Dark Knight stood swiftly, shifting just enough so that he could look over his shoulder at his partner- ex-partner?

Robin gently tilted his head up to meet the man's masked eyes with his own, "Batman." He returned curtly.

Batman laid a gentle hand on his son's shoulder, as Robin would always be just that, and squeezed softly, "We'll handle this." No _"It'll be okay" _or _"I'll protect you"_ or anything equally as deceitful or condescending. It was a simple assurance that they would work this problem about, that he'd be okay and Batman wouldn't let Zucco do anything to him. It was partner talk, no sidekicks.

"Okay."

And then Batman turned to his team.


End file.
